Arthritis Drug May Help Ease Other Type of Joint Pain

Published Online: Wednesday, February 1, 2006

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According to the results of a study conducted in both the
United States and Europe, adalimumab (Humira), a commonly
used rheumatoid arthritis drug, also may help to
reduce the symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The
findings were presented at the annual scientific meeting of
the American College of Rheumatology in San Diego, Calif.

The study included 315 AS patients who had no success
with at least 1 other form of therapy. The patients were
randomly assigned either 40 mg of adalimumab or a placebo
for 24 weeks. Researchers used 5 assessment methods
to measure the patients' clinical responses to the treatment.
The goal was a 20% improvement in AS signs and
symptoms.

The researchers found that, at 12 and 24 weeks, more
than twice as many patients taking the adalimumab
reached the 20% symptom-improvement goal, compared
with those taking the placebo. Some patients showed
improvement as early as 2 weeks into the study.